Ground Broken for Experimental Purification Plant
South Bay water district officials broke ground Thursday for an experimental plant that will purify underground water that is now too salty to drink.
The $3.5-million plant, to be built at Maple Avenue and Del Amo Boulevard in Torrance, will produce about 1.5 million gallons of desalinated water a day--enough to supply more than 2,000 households. Officials expect construction of the plant to be completed by the end of the year.
The federal government contributed $1.2 million toward the plant, which was planned by the West Basin Municipal Water District and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The plant will allow the water district to decrease its reliance on water imported from the Colorado River and Northern California.
In the South Bay, the water district includes the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the cities of Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach.
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